so are we at..."this is bad because it will restrict the flow of unsafe junkers passed off to someone living in Panama"?

Not unsafe necessarily. The cost of labor is so high in the US that fixing even minor damage might not be cost efficient. Also consider the possible increase in the insurance fees if you continue driving a car after repairs. Other countries have lower cost of labor overall, so it's a profitable (and, hopefully, safe) business for them.

Lots of passed off vehicles to poorer countries tend to be body on frame style. Lots of ford/Toyota trucks, where frame damage can as "simple" as welding steel bar stock or straightening with a basic frame puller. If a unibody vehicle is totaled from major damage in the US, they get scrapped of nearly every usable part, then crushed and melted down. Not even worth the shipping/hassle to send a smashed up Kia to Central America, let alone Africa. People aren't stupid. They're just as savvy at this, if not more, than we would ever be. Hence the amount of body on frame SUVs and trucks that get salvaged there. Sure, you'll see "beat up" cheap cars there, but they'll pass on anything majorly damaged, cuz even there, it's simply not worth it.

Yup, agreed. In the US the incentives are against repairs, not for. I don't know enough about cars to have an opinion on whether Tesla-style cast bodies will result in more cars being written off with similar damages to other fairly expensive cars.

There’s also enough people willing/able to do the repair themselves to get the car back into drive able condition.

I see this frequently driving through poor, rural communities. Very nice vehicles, with some sort of damage and repairs. You can get a super nice interior and high quality ride if you’re willing to deal with vanity flaws.

Even in the US there are enthusiasts who buy and restore super cars for cheap (relatively speaking). There are several crafty YT channels showing the process from start to finish.

I don't know tbh. I just drive a 10-15 y.o. US vehicle in Poland because the previous owner imported it. Who knows, when I'm done with it, it might even be exported on out of the EU.